Lacing machine



Aug. 25, 1942. J. FOSSA LACING MACHINE Filed July 1. 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Witness Aug. 25, 1942. J. FossA 2,293,727

- LACING MACHINE Filed July 1, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Witness W F/Jfya/MZ Aug. 25, 1942. J. FOSSA LACING MACHINE Filed July 1, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 r Patented Aug. 25, 1942 LACING MACHINE Joseph Fossa, Salem, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application July 1, 1938, Serial No. 217,004

Claims.

The present invention relates to shoe upper lacing machines, and more particularly to improvements in the operating devices for an upper lacing machine of the type disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent of the present inventor No. 2,106,320 of January 25, 1938 in which a plurality of lacing mechanisms having reciprocating needles or other eyelet engaging devices act simultaneously to form a series of lacings from separate lengths of cord passing through the eyelets and across the edges of a shoe upper.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a machine for lacing shoe uppers which will operate more accurately and in which the lacing devices may be more quickly and easily adjusted by the operator than heretofore, and as a result, the periods of timein which the machine of necessity is not in operating condition are shorter and will occur less frequently than in prior machines of the type referred to.

Other objects of the invention are to improve the construction and mode of operation of the various parts of shoe upper lacing machines.

In the lacing machine of inventors patent referred to, separate lacing cords are led to the operating devices of the machine from a supply through individual tension devices or clamps which are actuated to release the cords during parts of each lacing operation so that lengths of cord may pass in the amounts required to complete the lacings. Due to improper adjustment of the mechanism for actuating the clamps, some of the clamps may not be actuated simultaneously with the others to release the cords, and the tensions on the cords drawn from the supply, as a result, may not be uniform. When a series of lacings is formed in an upper with different tensions, the upper, when lasted, will have its eyeleted edges distorted or the edges will not conform accurately with the shape of the last.

To avoid these difficulties, and to insure that all of the cords Will be subjected to the same tension in a shoe upper lacing machine of the type referred to, while forming a series of lacings, one feature of the present invention relates to -the provision of a single cord tensioning device eyelets of an upper while a new loop is passed through the open loop and for drawing tight a preceding loop of cord and pressure is exerted against said one member of the clamp as the loop takers are drawing the loops of cord tight. In connection with this feature of the invention, the cord clamp and the means for pressing the separable members thereof together are constructed as a unit, which is releasably supported on the frame of the machine so as to render it easily removable for convenient cleaning, for facilitating threading of the cords through other parts of the machine or for other purposes.

Other features of the invention relate to novel and improved means for releasably securing the needles in the machine, and to novel devices, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The several features of the invention and the advantages to be obtained thereby will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of portions of a shoe upper lacing machine embodying the features of the present invention; Figure 2 is a, view in right side elevation, partly in section, on an enlarged scale of the lower forward part of the machine shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a detail view on a still further enlarged scale, taken in section,- along the line 33 of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a sectional view, taken along the line 44 of Figure 2. of the cord clamp and the mechanism for actuating it; and Figure 5 is a detail view illustrating the operation of the loop taker in drawing tight a loop of cord while forming a lacing.

The lacing machine illustrated in the drawings is of the same construction and mode of operation, except as hereinafter described, as that disclosed in inventors patent above referred to, and is arranged with six relatively movable lacing mechanisms, each having a movable frame 2, an eyelet engaging spindle or needle 4, a loop taker 6, upon and lower clamping members 8, and [0, respectively, cord end grippers I2, cord measuring fingers M (Fig. 5), and other operating devices to assist in forming a separate complete lacing in each eyelet of a shoe upper which is presented to the machine. The lacing mechanisms are each supplied with a cord and the lacing devices including those just mentioned operate to form an interconnected series of loops in the cord, alternate bights of which are passed through a pair of aligned eyelets in opposite sides of a shoe upper, and others of which are passed across the edges of the upper. The bight of each loop, after being passed through the eyelets or across the upper edge, is passed through a previously formed loop and is drawn tight by the loop taker to lock the previous loop in place. At the end of the lacing operation, the bight portion of the final loop, after being drawn tight, is severed and the severed end withdrawn from the previous loop. The machine is then brought to rest by a driving and stopping mechanism described more fully in the patent referred to.

The manner in which successively formed loops are passed through preceding loops and drawn tight is clearly illustrated in Figure 5 which shows the relative positions of one loop taker 6 of one lacing mechanism and a shoe upper I6 while a loop of cord supported by the loop taker is being tightened. At the same time, the loop on the loop taker is being tightened, it is moved into a position where the next loop of cord formed by the needle 4 will pass through the loop held by the loop taker to be engaged in turn by the loop taker as the loop taker moves in the opposite direction. In tightening each loop of cord, the side of the loop which is connected to the previously formed loop passes beneath the upper and around the cord'measuring finger I4 to provide sufficient slack in all the lacings after completion to allow the upper to be opened up and to cause the eyeleted edges, when the upper is applied to a last, to lie flat upon the surfaces of the last without distortion or unnatural curvature. To insure that all of the cords in the lacings will be subjected to the same tightening effects by all the loop takers and at the same time to permit sufiicient cord to be drawn from the respective supplies, in the machine of the patent each cord, after passing from the supply is drawn through a tensioning device or clamp which grips and holds the cord from movement while each loop is being tightened by the loop taker. Each tensioning device is actuated by a separate spring to grip the cord passing therethrough, and mechanism is provided for removing the pressure exerted by the springs on all of the cords as the needle is forming each new loop of cord during its upward stroke. Under some conditions, with this arrangement, as Where there is a difference in the size of the cords or with improper adjustment of the tensioning-devices, some of the' cords may be released before the tightening actionof a loop taker is completed, so that the tension of one lacing being formed will be less than that of an adjacent lacing.

To prevent any of the cords from being released for movement towards the lacing devices before the loop-takers have completed their loop tightening movements, according to a feature of the present invention, a single cord clamp is provided having a plurality of separable washers l8 (see Figs. 2 and 4) mounted so as to contact with each other upon a, single supporting rod releasably secured between upstanding flanges 22 and 24 of a bracket 26'bo1ted to the main frame 28 of the machine.

Each washer I8 is constructed with an integral sleeve portion, the inside of which fits loosely around the rod 20. The washersare arranged in pairs with the sleeve portions away from each other so that relatively large gripping surfaces are provided for engaging a cord passing between. The washer l8 at the left end of the rod 29 rests against a collar 30 secured to therod by means ofa pin -32 passingthrough the collar and the rod. All of the washers are pressed towards the left to grip the cords passing between each of the pairs while the loops of cord are being drawn tight and the washers are permitted to separate and release the cords as the needles 4 are rising to enter an eyelet or to pass across the edges of the upper. To exert a pressure on the washers, there is a compression spring 34 surrounding the rod 20 and engaging at one end a flanged slider 36 which acts against the first washer at the right and at the other end against a knurled adjusting nut 38 threaded on the rod. The pressure of the slider 36 against the first washer I8 at the right compresses all of the washers together with an equal force and, when the pressure of the spring on the first washer at the right is removed, all of the washers are simultaneously permitted to separate regardless of whether the cords which pass between each of a pair of washers is of uniform size or quality. To remove the pressure of the spring against the washers, the flange of the slider 36 is acted upon by the forked arm of a right angle lever 39 fulcrumed on a vertical pin 40 mounted in a lug on the bracket 26. At the rear of the lever 38 there is .rotatably mounted on a horizontal shaft 42 a second lever 44 having spaced hub portions connected together by an integral bridge. The lever 44 is actuated towards and against acam surface 46 of the lever '39 to cause it to rotate about the pin 40 at the proper times to remove the pressure of the spring 34 .by-cam actuated connections similar to those described in inventors patent for actuating the individual tensioning devices of the patent. These connections include a link 48 connected "to an upstanding arm of the lever '44.

The cord clamp is located close to and slightly above the outlets to a series of cord supply tubes 49 extending rearwardly through the machine from a suitable supply package or container for the cord. To prevent the cords as they pass between the washers |'8 from imparting a rotary motion to the washers and thus tend to reduce the effectiveness of thegrip on the cords, the-rod '29 has a series of passages extending substantially diametrically of the washers, one of which passages is shown at 50 in-Figure 4, for guiding the cords passing between the washers. The path taken by a cord as it passes through each guiding passage is indicated more clearly in Fig-- ure 2, the-cord being so positioned betweenea'ch pair of washers that there -'is little or no tendency to-cause rotation of the washers on -the rod. 'To hold-the rod itself from rotation and to maintain the proper angleof the passages with the outlets of the supply tubes 49, the pin '32 which holds the collar '30 in position at the left end of-the rod extends rearwardly into a hole '52 formed in the bracket 26.

When the cords are threaded through the supply tubes 49, the washers'of the clamp may interfere with'the manipulation of a wire threading hook ordinarily employed for this purpose. To render the outlets of the supply tubes more readily accessible when threading the cord, a quickly releasable connection is provided by means of which the washers! B, rod2il, andspring 34 are removable as a unit and are readily replaceable in-operating relation to the other parts of the machine. The right end-of the rod 20 is formed with-a redu'ced tip of sphericalshape fitting within-a conical holderi54 .in theTbracket 2-5 and-the left endris constructed with a "tapered surface fitting within a corresponding surface in the end of a retractable plunger 56 slidably mounted in the bracket 26. The plunger 56 is forced against the tapered end of the rod 20 by means of a leaf spring 58 secured to the bracket, the forked end of which spring engages a groove in the plunger. The plunger is formed with a roughened end so that it may be retracted to release the clamp. To maintain the adjustment of the adjusting nut 38 while the clamp is secured in the bracket 26, the bracket has mounted on it behind the nut 38 a leaf spring 59 which bears against the surface of the nut 38.

The take-up for the present machine differs in construction somewhat from the take-up of the machine of inventors patent in that a single rectangular thread engaging plate 60 is secured to two take-up actuating arms 62 in place of the pair of parallel rods in the machine of the patent. The take-up actuating arms 62 are secured to the shaft 42 and for actuating the arms in proper timed relation to the other lacing devices, a separate arm 64 is fixed to the shaft and connected to a cam actuated lever through a link 66. The plate 60 has a series of slotted openings 68 for guiding the cords, and

the cords as they pass over the clamp extend first through the lowermost of a double row of wire guides 10 through the openings 68 in the plate 60 and over the uppermost of the guides 10 towards the lacing devices, the take-up acting in front of the cord clamp so as partially to obscure the clamp and render the threading operation more dificult without removing the clamp.

To release a needle from a needle bar in the machine of inventors patent, it is necessary to reach up at a diflicult angle between closely spaced parts with a screw driver and to loosen a set screw which clamps the needle in the bar. Such manipulations frequently are inconvenient, particularly where lighting is poor so that operation of the machine may be unreasonably delayed while needles are being removed or replaced.

To enable the operator to remove or replace needles in the present machine without appreciable loss of time, each needle is releasably secured in its respective needle bar indicated at 12, by a spring actuated detent comprising a plunger 14 slidable transversely in a passage in the needle bar and a bushing 16 is secured in the main frame of the machine for guiding a spindle releasing tool, such as that indicated in dot-dash lines 18, against the plunger to move it into a position Where the needle is released. The arrangement is such that the bushing 15 is in alignment with the plunger 14 while the machine is in stopped position. As a convenient tool for actuating the plunger 14 to release the needles, a straight rod fitting loosely with the inside of the bushing 16 and having a circular handle is provided. The tool is inserted in the bushing 16 to release the needles only while the machine is stopped, and immediately withdrawn so that it will not interfere with the reciprocating movement of the needle bars.

The lacing machine illustrated is provided with spacing'mechanism including a spacing lever 80 and connecting links 82 between the lever and each lacing frame 2, as described more fully in the patent referred to. When the needles are to be removed in the present machine, the lacingmechanisms are spaced in their most widely separated positions and the bushings 16 are so located in the bracket 26 that they will line up with the plungers 14 when the lacing mechanisms are in these positions.

Each plunger 14 and the lower end of each needle is formed with cooperating surfaces arranged to locate the needle in correct angular position and to lock or release the needle in the needle bar when the plunger is moved. Each plunger 14 is surrounded by a spring 84 compressed between a shoulder at the end of an enlargement in the passage of the needle bar through which the plunger passes, and a head at the end of the plunger, which head is flattened at one side to avoid interfering with a relatively stationary plate 86 forming a part of the carrier in which the needle bar 12 reciprocates (see Fig. 3). To prevent rotation of the plunger 14 in the needle bar and to limit the action of spring 84, in the upper end of the plunger, there is a pin 88, one end of which extends into a slot formed in the side of the passage for the plunger. Each needle 2 has at its lower end a flat surface, and each plunger is cut away at one side along its central portion to such an extent that the flattened surface of the needle, when the needle is pressed into the needle bar, will enter the cutaway portion of the plunger. The needle is also formed with a slot at right angles to the flattened surface of the needle, and the slot is of such size that as the plunger is moved by the spring 84 it will enter the slot and lock the needle from being withdrawn. The needle has one side at its end bevelled so that the plunger will be moved against the spring 84 without employing the tool 78 when the needle is introduced into the needle bar.

The means herein disclosed for removably securing the needles to the needle bars forms the subject-matter of a divisional application filed December 6, 1940, Serial No. 368,819.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A machine for lacing eyeleted shoe uppers having, in combination, a plurality of lacing mechanisms arranged to form simultaneously a series of lacings from separate lengths of cord passing through the eyelets and across the edges of an upper, means for supplying cords to the lacing mechanisms, and a cord clamp between the lacing mechanisms and the cord supply means comprising a set of washers between which cords for the lacings pass, a slider arranged to apply pressure to said set of washers, a rod on which the washers are movable towards and from each other to grip and release the cords passing between the washers, and means acting on the slider to press all of the washers together as the lacings are being tightened and actin on the slider to permit the washers to separate at other times during the lacing operations.

2. A machine for lacing eyeleted shoe uppers having, in combination, a plurality of lacing mechanisms arranged to form simultaneously a series of lacings from separate lengths of cord passing through the eyelets and across the edges of an upper, means for supplying cords to the lacing mechanisms, a cord clamp between the lacing mechanisms and the cord supply means comprising a set of washers between which cords for the lacings pass, arranged to transmit pressure from one to another, a rodon which the washers are movable towards and from each other to clamp and release the cords passing between the washers, means acting at one end of the rod to press all of the washers together at certain times during the lacing operations and topermitthe 1 members to separate atother times durin the lacing-operations, and cordguidingpassages in the rod extending substantially-diametrically 'of thewashersdisposed to direct the cords between the washers and to prevent rotary effort from being imparted to the washers while the cords are clamped.

3. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a main frame, a reciprocating needle, a cord clamp comprising separable members between whichthe cords pass, means for pressing said members yieldingly together, a rod I on which the separable-members-and pressing means are mounted, means on the frame for actuating the clamp intermittently to 'permit separation of the separable members, a retract able plunger on the frame engaging one end of r the rod to releasably support the clam and for rendering the rod, separable members, andpressing means removable as a unit, and cooperating means on the rod and frame to prevent rotation of the rod when supported by the retractableplunger.

4. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a main frame,- a reciprocating needle, a cord clamp comprising separable members between which the cords pass, means for pressing said members yieldingly together, a rod on which the separable members and pressing means are mounted, means0n the frame foractuating the clamp intermittently to permit separation of the separable members, and a retractableplungeronth-frame engaging one end of the rod to releasably support the clamp and cord supply means having outlets close to thecord clamp, yieldin means actingto press the rod in one direction to releasably support the separable members and rod-,-and a lever acting on one of said members in thesame direction to release the cords from the clamp.

JOSEPH FOSSA. 

